


A Light Refracted

by Nightsidesamurai



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:06:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsidesamurai/pseuds/Nightsidesamurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if things in the Force Awakens had been a little different? What is Ben Solo was instead Ben Skywalker? If he had been raised in isolation by Luke on that rocky island, how would he be different? How would Rey be different is she was Han and Leia's daughter, taken by the Knights of Ren as a child? This story is an exploration of those ideas and possibilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Light Refracted

Ben could feel hot wind and sand on his face but nothing else. There was no grit in his mouth or harsh light on his closed eyes, but the rough heat persisted. He resisted the urge to go chasing after more, the Force could not be coerced into bringing him what he wanted to know, his father had drilled that into him over and over again.

He imagined the gray face and scraggly beard and smiled inwardly. Ben could hear his father's voice and his oft-repeated words of wisdom. “As custodians of the light we must be mindful to never push the Force lest we be dragged into the temptations of the dark side”.

Ben knew that even this guided meditation would not be approved by his father, but he had to find her, he had to save her.

“Looking for her again Ben?” Luke Skywalker leaned against a rocky outcropping, his gray hair tousled by the strong ocean breeze, light framing him against the mouth of the small cave Ben frequently used for meditation. There was a hint of reproach in his voice but also acceptance, there was worse his son could be obsessed about and he knew that Ben's motives were pure.

Ben rose from his cross-legged pose, carefully adjusting his robes where they had become rumpled, and nodded. “I never stopped looking really. She's out there, alone with them and here we are; waiting.” Unlike his father, Ben had not mastered his emotions as well and there was anger on the edges of his words.

“Be mindful my son. Our time will come and we will set things right but we must let the Force guide us.” Luke knew that his son disagreed with their exile, he disagreed with their life on a green rock on a hidden world. But he had sensed a great darkness ahead of them both, with no way to be clear of it if he remained a public part of the galaxy. He had hoped to counter the darkness with light, ignoring the dire warnings he had been given, and the loss of his academy had been the culmination of his hubris.

Luke had escaped with only his young son and R2-D2, leaving his dreams of a new Jedi order, literally in flames. Now, with the darkness no less present, he could do nothing but counsel patience. “We will find her and help her, when the time is right, we will both bring her home.” He looked ready to say more but they were both cut short when the sound of a ship engine echoed through the air.

Both of them ran from the cave and quickly made the climb to the top of the highest hill on the small island. From their vantage point they saw a ship reminiscent of an old Imperial shuttle, wings folding upwards into a triangle as it landed on the only clearing large enough for a landing.

Ben could feel his heart racing and the Force trilled with a new presence, familiar but dark, boldly announcing its arrival on the rocky retreat. “She's here. She came for us.” He couldn't help but let his excitement bleed into his voice before seeing the warning in his father's eyes.

Luke had a faraway look on his face and his presence in the Force was as powerful and filled with light as Ben had ever seen. “Son, no matter what you can't let her find you. I have to face my mistakes but you have a chance to complete my work.” He didn't wait for a response and walked down from the hill to meet a black cloaked figure waiting at the ship.

Luke could feel the past reaching forward to repeat itself and part of him enjoyed the irony. Long ago he had watched Obi-Wan, robed in sandy colored clothing and wearing the gray of wisdom on his face, meeting a dark figure in black. Luke hoped that he would worthy of his mentor now, as he had tried to be in the years that had passed since his sacrifice.

The dark figure was that of a small-framed and lithe woman, the cut of her clothing a reflection of the clothing Luke was wearing. It was the sort of layered clothing that would be suited for hard work on a desert world but in black it was somehow more threatening on the woman waiting for him. He could feel darkness oozing out of her like an infected wound and if not for his own connection to the light, he may have been pushed into fear. As it was he could feel his stomach flutter with a hint of nervousness.

Finally he stopped a few feet away from her and got a good look at the girl he had lost years ago. She had her mother's face but the roguish grin of her father and their was still the sparkle of mischief in her eyes. But other than that, his niece was almost unrecognizable. A harshness had settled into her every movement and she seemed to breathe malice and anger. There was almost nothing of Han and Leia's little girl left in this angry woman.

The woman reached behind her back and pulled out an old lightsaber. She tossed it to the ground at Luke's feet, an accusation in action. “Pick it up”.

Luke bent down and examined the familiar weapon so long missing from his hand. “Thank you for returning this to me Breha, I thought I'd never see it again. If only all that went missing that day could be returned.” He flexed his robotic hand and smiled, trying to find some opening in the woman’s anger with humor.

“Don't call me that! I am Rey! REY!” Luke rocked backward as if slapped, so strong was the anger that radiated from his niece. She continued angrily, a hint of mania flooding her powerful presence, “You left that weak girl behind but Rey survived and now you're going to pay. First you then mother, then father, then...then...” Her eyes were wild as she searched her mind for someone else who deserved her anger.

A few tears wet Luke's cheeks as he experienced strongly the insanity that had gripped his once happy niece. She was right, he had failed her and when the Knights of Ren had destroyed his academy and taken her, he had chosen caution. Now his past laid a noose around his neck, the weight of his mistakes was sure to drag him away. “Oh Breha, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean anything to you know but I am truly sorry that I failed you. What can I do?”

Rey had expected his weak words and with little preamble she responded with a snarl, “You can die!” Suddenly a lightsaber of her own snapped to life, igniting on both ends of a short staff, the red glow from both ends casting shadows on her pale face.

Luke reacted, instinct bringing his bright blue blade to life and parrying reckless blows and wild swings of the unorthodox double-saber. He could defeat her, he saw the path to that outcome easily in his mind, his own dueling skills were much more advanced. But he also saw that to do so would be to guarantee Breha's death and he could never face his sister if he was the one to end her daughter's life. But there was always another choice.

Ben Skywalker watched from above as his father and his cousin dueled frenetically in the clearing by the ocean. They seemed to embody the Force itself as they fought. Luke calm and defensive, never lashing out to harm, used his single blade to try and corral Rey into a position where he might end the fight without hurting her. But Rey was a storm, her acrobatic prowess allowing her to slip out of Luke's more grounded techniques. Ben had never seen a duel like this, even in practicing forms with practice swords he had never seen his father's full skill. But he noticed something even more worrisome as he continued watching the fight. His father was going to lose.

He could see that Luke had begun to make small mistakes for no apparent reason. Ben could find no reason why his father would keep missing strokes that would end the fight. After another missed strike left him open to a telekinetic push that sent his blue saber sailing onto the rocks realization flooded his mind. “He's going to sacrifice himself. He's going to let her win”, he whispered to himself.

Ben found himself running down the rocky path, somehow hoping to stop what he knew was about to happen. He found himself at the bottom of the hill before he skidded to a stop in time to watch his father apologize with his eyes and one of Rey's scarlet red blades piercing his chest. 

The last Jedi Master in the galaxy died on an empty rock on an unnamed ocean on an unknown planet and only his son's wail of anguish to announce his passing.

Rey's face showed confusion as Ben walked towards her slowly and used the Force to call the discarded blue lightsaber to his hand. He could feel something had come lose inside but it still ignited, jagged and sparking energy from the hilt. He knew that he should be feeling something as the sparks struck his clothing and singed his skin underneath. But all he could see was the burning red blades of the girl who had killed his father in cold blood. 

And Ben attacked.


End file.
